Witkoff, Araghchi clash over enrichment ahead of fifth round of talks

Iran and the United States remain at odds over uranium enrichment as the two sides prepare for a possible new round of nuclear negotiations, with Washington demanding a complete halt and Tehran insisting enrichment will continue under any circumstances.

President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East on Sunday said Washington will not accept any level of uranium enrichment in a potential agreement with Tehran.

“We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability,” he told ABC News.

“Everything begins from our standpoint with a deal that does not include enrichment.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi swiftly rejected Witkoff’s remarks, calling them unrealistic and disconnected from the state of negotiations. “I think he is completely at a distance from the reality of the negotiations,” Araghchi told IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency.

In a post on X, Araghchi stressed that uranium enrichment in Iran will not be halted under any scenario.

“If the US is interested in ensuring that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, a deal is within reach, and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that will forever ensure that outcome,” Araghchi posted on X. “Enrichment in Iran, however, will continue with or without a deal.”

He also accused the United States of inconsistency in its messaging. “Iran can only control what we Iranians do, and that is to avoid negotiating in public—particularly given the current dissonance we are seeing between what our US interlocutors say in public and in private, and from one week to the other."

Next round of US-Iran talks

Araghchi on Sunday said that a date for the next round of talks has been set and will be announced soon by Oman, which is acting as a mediator, but denied that Tehran had received any formal written proposal from the US.

Witkoff, for his part, said the US had already conveyed its position at the highest level. “(Trump) has directly sent letters to the supreme leader. I have been dispatched to deliver that message as well, and I've delivered it,” he said.

Witkoff said that the next round of negotiations may take place in Europe in the coming days.

“We think that we will be meeting sometime this week in Europe. And we hope that it will lead to some real positivity,” he said.

Iran and the United States have already held four rounds of talks in Muscat and Rome.

Trump said Thursday that the US was “very close” to securing a deal with Iran but warned on Friday that Tehran must act quickly. “They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad—something bad’s going to happen,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.